Hi everyone,
I've been reading the boards avidly since I started taking nal about five weeks ago. I started treatment on 8/8/09 - made the mistake of taking 50mg first time. Not a good idea. I was definitely under the weather next day, and made sure to take half a tablet for the next couple of drinking sessions. Am happy to say that side effects are now minimal, although I was a bit woozy and tired the first few weeks. I'm a binge drinker - almost exclusively wine - and have not yet seen any reduction in consumption. In fact, I have upped my units in the past week or so, though on some occasions I've barely finished one glass before deciding that I didn't want any more. That's definitely new. Thanks to the comments on the boards, I have stopped panicking about this new pattern and know that spiking is quite common. I am very optimistic that TSM will work. The science behind it is sound and gives one confidence that if the treatment plan is followed to the letter, extinction will happen. Not overnight though. I have to remind myself - frequently - that Rome wasn't built in a day. (I want it now!) I have been alcohol dependent for 20 years and hate it. The shame, frustration, bewilderment and despair that comes with having no control over intake is hard to explain to those who don't suffer from this dreadful affliction. I've tried all the usual ways to control and/or stop. Have been rehabbed on several occasions. Taken the AA route. The Rational Recovery route. The meditation route. etc. etc. Years and years of trying and eventually failing to beat this thing. Then I read a review of the Cure of Alcoholism, bought the book, read it cover to cover several times over a couple of days and found myself crying with relief. This was it! One of the many things I really appreciated in the book, was the description of the neurological processes which lead to addiction in some people. It did take away much of the guilt and shame I have felt over the years when my behaviours have led family and friends to turn away in disgust and sorrow. Now, I can hold my head up and ask them to read about the Sinclair method and get behind me in the treatment plan. Funny thing is, I had read about Naltrexone about ten years ago and tried it. At that time it was mostly prescribed for heroin addiction but there was some talk that it might work for alcohol also. But the way it was used was all wrong. You took the pill and abstained from drinking. Needless to say, it didn't work and after a month or so, I stopped taking it and resumed binge drinking with a vengeance. Thanks to Dr. Sinclair 's research, I now know that there are solid physical/neurochemical reasons why the abstinence approach doesn't work for most addicts.
Thanks to everyone who participates and takes time to help newcomers. The support and information is inspirational.

Glad you're here!

Hi skye_leap,

I just want to echo what WTE has said above.

Welcome to our community!

V.

I agree -- INSPIRATIONAL! Welcome to the board and congratulations on finding this method.

Thank you for the welcome. I feel right at home, a proud "knuckleheader". It's the only way I learn anything!.

I'd appreciate some input on a dilemma. I'm about to leave on a much-needed, delayed vacation. Have five kids - know, I know, that in itself explains my fondness for fortified grape juice - now grown up but able to press the buttons and create upheavals nonetheless, including changing a wedding date, hence the delayed vacation. So... grateful as I am that I was able to change dates and get away, I now have to figure out the alcohol thing. I am spending a week on an island, off of an island. Very remote and rustic. Think no running water and outhouses. All food and drink has to be taken over. In years past, I've used this time to detox. Once I"m out there, there is no place to buy, or bum, a drink. Usually, at the outset, I'm resolved not to take any. Then of course, by day two I'm climbing the walls, spending hours fantasizing about a glass of vino. Or seven. This time, I'm not sure if it's a good idea NOT to drink. Would it mean when I got back, I'd have to "restart" my treatment?

Added to this dilemma, is that when I return I'd due a check-up with my doctor to see how my liver and kidneys are doing on the nal. Both readings were slightly elevated when I had them checked about three months ago. Nothing to get excited about, but I'm thinking that I should try to abstain from any alcohol for a couple of weeks to get the readings down. (Too late. probably.)

Another twist - I first tried to get a Nal prescription from my therapist. Took the Cure book with me, showed her the relevant chapter for Medical Professionals, talked to her about the treatment Totally upfront about what i wanted to do. She balked. Wouldn't write the prescription if I was going to continue drinking. So I dropped that plan and went to my doctor, but this time said I wanted to use the nal to help me stop drinking. Got a prescription no problem. Didn't like to fudge but you do what you have to do... However, since I am still drinking - and know that I should to make this work - I'm worried about the enzyme levels. What if they're up. Will the doc say that I should not take nal. Is any of this making any sense?

Bon courage.

Check the book about naltrexone and liver issues. Off the top of my head you have to take six times the amount we take (50 mg times 6 = 300 mg) for there to be any risk to your liver. Regarding the vacation, I don't see the problem: if you have a craving to drink, do so, just take the naltrexone one hour in advance. The whole point behind TSM is to not fight the urge to drink: you take the naltrexone, the endorphins (positive reinforcement) are blocked, and ultimately whatever stimulated you to drink is extinguished. That's why the book says there should be no effort and you should drink when you have the urge to drink, but on the naltrexone, of course. I hope I'm not missing something here regarding why you would not want to drink outside the liver issue while on vacation. But as I said, 50 mg is not a threat to a normal liver, according to the book. But, as I also said, you should re-read that passage in the book to make certain of it. (It goes without saying I'm no MD and am not qualified to give medical advice.)

Hi Skye & welcome -
I totally agree w/ what Nick said. Your elevated liver/kidney enzymes may be due to reasons other than alcohol...and your doc may have lumped them into the same report when they are separate organs and maybe one (the kidney most likely) was more elevated than the liver.

My doc said it is in excess of 300mgs of Nal daily where liver damage is likely to occur and chances are, we are talking to a person who has liver damage already. You didn't say what your patterns have been over the 20 yrs., but so hope this method/treatment is your salvation (as we all do).

Again, so glad you found us and are excited!! We wish you the best along this path we're all traveling. I share your euphoria over stumbling upon the book: one night last January I was sooooo sad & depressed about my bad self...went into a bookstore looking for something half-heartedly in the self-help (w/ addiction) section...hoping to find a miracle...and I did!! Just the HOPE of a "cure", of getting this monkey off my back has been HUGE the last 9 months.

As you will read elsewhere, some of us have upped the doseage. I still have my fingers crossed, but I can tell you one thing, this site is my lifeline to sanity. My self-esteem is constantly reinforced here. I hope you find the same sense of "reality" w/ us. Good luck and keep posting! I love hearing from the newbies!

And BTW - it's working!!!